--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's very disheartening and…" description: "\"I think it's very disheartening and undermining to focus on nostalgia or youthful sentimentality as the lens through which you view art and culture, be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/carrie-brownstein-1580_alive_i-think-it-s-very-disheartening-and-unde_2797290.jpg" --- # I think it's very disheartening and undermining to focus… ![“I think it's very disheartening and undermining to focus on nostalgia or youthful sentimentality as the lens through which you view art and culture, because then you feel like everything good already happened. I really just try to be in the present with music and just find the things that are…” quote by Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/carrie-brownstein-1580_alive_i-think-it-s-very-disheartening-and-unde_2797290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/carrie-brownstein-1580_alive_i-think-it-s-very-disheartening-and-unde_2797290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/carrie-brownstein-1580_alive_i-think-it-s-very-disheartening-and-unde_2797290.jpg) > “I think it's very disheartening and undermining to focus on nostalgia or youthful sentimentality as the lens through which you view art and culture, because then you feel like everything good already happened. I really just try to be in the present with music and just find the things that are invigorating and make me feel happy to be alive right now.” [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on past nostalgia limits appreciation of current art; embracing present moments brings vitality and joy. **In simple terms:** Living in the present makes art feel alive. Key Takeaway Seek fresh experiences now. Themes presentism joy art appreciation nostalgia mindfulness Mood energetic optimistic reflective Type inspirational philosophical contemplative When to use this quote - Listening to new music - attending live shows - exploring emerging artists - practicing mindfulness while consuming culture Key Concepts Temporal perspective emotional health creative vitality Questions to Reflect On - How does nostalgia shape your taste? - What present experiences energize you? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can provide valuable context and inspiration; dismissing it entirely may overlook lessons from the past. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art and culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-and-culture/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Disheartening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disheartening/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Happy to be alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-to-be-alive/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Sentimentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [There is a certain comfort that comes from feeling intellectually apart from phenomena. That you have the luxury of time to reflect or apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/there-is-a-certain-comfort-that-comes-from-feeling-intellectually/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [You are my family and you make me feel happy to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-my-family-and-you-make-me-feel-happy-to-be-alive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There comes a time for healing no matter how broken you are right now; no matter how heavy your heart is right now. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/there-comes-a-time-for-healing-no-matter-how-broken-you-are-right-now/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [Paying attention to my breath makes me happy to be alive. And that really grounds me during a performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-reyez/paying-attention-to-my-breath-makes-me-happy-to-be-alive-and-that/) [Jessie Reyez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-reyez/) > [When you're out in the wild, you should live so fully and recklessly that you're happy to be alive and healthy by the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/when-you-re-out-in-the-wild-you-should-live-so-fully-and-recklessly/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [“I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-t-bernier-grand/i-am-not-sick-i-am-broken-but-i-am-happy-to-be-alive/) Carmen T. Bernier-Grand > [All I understood was that she was the girl I sat up every night thinking about and when Im with her I feel happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-meets-world/all-i-understood-was-that-she-was-the-girl-i-sat-up-every-night/) Boy Meets World > [My life, my rules, I can break them or I can bend them , I take nothing for granted and have everything to gain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/my-life-my-rules-i-can-break-them-or-i-can-bend-them-i-take-nothing/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [My political position is that I'm happy to be alive and in North America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/my-political-position-is-that-i-m-happy-to-be-alive-and-in-north/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [I am here again, in a familiar place feeling something I've felt before, wondering why it's still here, why I didn't deal with it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-denise/i-am-here-again-in-a-familiar-place-feeling-something-i-ve-felt/) Jan Denise > [Tomorrow, I am fifty-two years old. And I want to say unequivocally that I am very happy to be alive, that being alive is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/tomorrow-i-am-fifty-two-years-old-and-i-want-to-say-unequivocally/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I'm happy to be alive, I'm happy to be who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-m-happy-to-be-alive-i-m-happy-to-be-who-i-am/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [After you have a kid you're just so happy to be alive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-stowe/after-you-have-a-kid-you-re-just-so-happy-to-be-alive/) [Madeleine Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-stowe/) > [I am very happy to be alive. There is much fun to be had. Music, movies, books, paintings, drawingsI hope you have these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/i-am-very-happy-to-be-alive-there-is-much-fun-to-be-had-music-movies/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [What a beautiful, sunny morning. It makes you happy to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takayuki-ikkaku/what-a-beautiful-sunny-morning-it-makes-you-happy-to-be-alive/) Takayuki Ikkaku ## More by Carrie Brownstein > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Much of the music I remember from camp was unofficial: the songs a counselor would play for us on acoustic guitar or that an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/much-of-the-music-i-remember-from-camp-was-unofficial-the-songs-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Rihanna has guts and she always seems to be singing from someplace honest, dark and fierce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/rihanna-has-guts-and-she-always-seems-to-be-singing-from-someplace/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think there's a lot of wonderful comics that leave you hanging in a state of apprehension or anxiety before alleviating that tension with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-wonderful-comics-that-leave-you-hanging-in-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Well, in some ways I had sort of the opposite experience of other people that are sort of dreaming of being in a rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/well-in-some-ways-i-had-sort-of-the-opposite-experience-of-other/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [There was a clarity to the Nineties. It was pre-9/11, before that anxiety kicked in that exists right now about the financial crisis or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/there-was-a-clarity-to-the-nineties-it-was-pre-9-11-before-that/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I think people would describe a lot of Sleater-Kinney as unsettling. And I don't think our best moments have sonic assonance to them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-people-would-describe-a-lot-of-sleater-kinney-as-unsettling/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I'm always trying to encourage people not to limit themselves in the same way that many of our parents stayed with one job forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-m-always-trying-to-encourage-people-not-to-limit-themselves-in-the/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [The game Rock Band has been haunting me like a bad ring tone. It gets stuck in my head and momentarily effaces all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/the-game-rock-band-has-been-haunting-me-like-a-bad-ring-tone-it-gets/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I've mostly been focusing on writing, and I've really enjoyed not playing music. It will always be part of my life, but I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-ve-mostly-been-focusing-on-writing-and-i-ve-really-enjoyed-not/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [To me, curiosity is married to optimism. And that's where a lot of my motivation comes from. A lot of my way out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/to-me-curiosity-is-married-to-optimism-and-that-s-where-a-lot-of-my/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [ \[I hate\] the ways that people want their special needs to be met, whether it's their food allergies or their special lotions or shoes.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-hate-the-ways-that-people-want-their-special-needs-to-be-met/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [No matter what people are struggling with, or based on whatever. Sexuality, ethnicity, economic status, size. I don't wish smallness for anyone. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/no-matter-what-people-are-struggling-with-or-based-on-whatever/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I would not call myself an optimist, even though I would aspire to be. I am innately a skeptic. There's kind of an incessant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-would-not-call-myself-an-optimist-even-though-i-would-aspire-to-be/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I always find that nostalgia is sort of like memory without the pain. And that's why it feels so good to kind of bask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-always-find-that-nostalgia-is-sort-of-like-memory-without-the-pain/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Explore all 226 Carrie Brownstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it's very disheartening and undermining to focus on nostalgia or youthful sentimentality as the lens through which you view art and culture, because then you feel like everything good already happened. 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